Former Pakistan middle-order batter Mohammad Wasim, who has also served as the chief selector of the Pakistan men’s cricket team, came up with a bold remark in a recent video on his YouTube channel. Wasim claimed that national women’s cricket team captain Fatima Sana is ahead of men’s Test side skipper Babar Azam when it comes to popularity and performance. While the men’s team player has been experiencing a massive dip in his performance, Fatima continues to impress everyone with her all-round abilities.
Wasim made the remark while speaking on his YouTube show ‘BolWasim‘. When asked if Fatima is equivalent to Babar Azam when compared to men’s cricket, the former Pakistan player said, “She’s ahead of them all. Among the educated and those who understand cricket, she’s ahead.”
“Because popularity is earned by performance,” he added.
Fatima has played 134 white-ball matches for Pakistan, scoring over 1,800 runs and picking up 157 wickets.
“She is batting and bowling as well, and now we are talking about the boys and girls together. So, at the moment, if you even look at the international media, they always praise Fatima Sana even though she is often on the losing side. The other cricket stars we have on this side (men’s) are not mentioned in an equally praising manner as her, and obviously their performances are not that good. So, we can say that she indeed is our superstar currently,” Wasim added.
Babar, who was reappointed Pakistan’s Test captain in July, led the national side to a 1-1 draw against the West Indies and a 0-3 whitewash against England in his first two series in charge.
Former Pakistan captain Waqar Younis earlier shared his opinions on Babar’s struggles.
Once touted as one of the best players in world cricket, the right-handed batter is going through a lean patch. Babar’s poor modes of dismissal have added to his troubles.
Younis said that the burden of Pakistan’s Test captaincy is taking a toll on the player’s performance. The former international believes Babar struggles when given leadership duties. He added that Pakistan are losing the player by giving him these responsibilities.